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Capitalism and the Modernizers
“The last twenty years have seen a boom of unprecedented size in the capitalist world. Never before has capitalism grown so fast for so long. This boom has been accompanied by far reaching institutional changes. Big business is becoming increasingly rational and calculating. It is beginning to plan . . .” read more
History in One Dimension
“Britain in 1914 was as near to revolution as it has ever been in the 20th century. A dispirited government, barely united and effetely led, groped its way between right-wing rebellion backed by military force in Ulster, and a militant syndicalist Labour movement freed from respectable leadership. Three . . .” read more
Socialism and Pseudo-Empiricism
“In a voice choking with anger, Edward Thompson has denounced the historical and theoretical work on British society developed in this review. In twenty years of public life, no other group or individual has earned the kind of unprovoked attack he has launched over some fifty pages of . . .” read more
Reification and the Sociological Critique of Consciousness
“Sociological theories may be grouped around two poles. The first presents us with a view of society as a network of human meanings as embodiments of human activity. The second, on the other hand, presents us with society conceived of as a thing-like facticity, standing over against . . .” read more
The Swedish Left
“The general societal setting of contemporary Swedish politics has been analysed elsewhere by the present writer in terms of the combination of—to use Gramscian categories—working-class political dominance with a continuing latent hegemony of the bourgeoisie. This situation has positive implications for left-wing action and thinking. Working-class political dominance . . .” read more
Brazil since the Coup
“It is 18 months since the Brazilian military seized power. Since the military coup, at least seven of the twenty-three elected governors have been removed from office. All of the popularly elected governors, including the moderate conservatives, who have been ousted have been replaced by military men loyal . . .” read more
Latin America: The Long March
“The following notes are the outcome of a long period spent in South America, side by side with revolutionary militants of every kind. I have attempted to understand these men and the beliefs which move them, on the spot—where I knew them: in Venezuela in the guerilla front . . .” read more
Labour Imperialism
“Unique among governments of the Left, the Labour Government has done more than fail its friends: it has even disappointed its enemies. Disillusion over its foreign policy is almost universal. The liberal opponents of socialism have been criticizing its inert conservatism for some time; now even the pillars . . .” read more
The Ghanaian Road
“Dennis Austin’s recent study of post-war Ghanaian politics, fruit of long residence and activity in Ghana and rich in narrative excitement, deserves a two-fold attention. It is by far the most informed account we have or are likely to have of this exemplary decolonization; and it utterly and . . .” read more
In Search of an Educational Principle
“In the elementary school, there used to be two elements in the educational formation of the children. They were taught the rudiments of natural science, and the idea of civic rights and duties. Science was intended to introduce the child to the societas rerum, the world of things, . . .” read more
The Congo, the United Nations and Chatham House
“Catherine Hoskyns’s book, The Congo since Independence, is a scholarly and fair-minded account, based on an analysis of all the available documentary material, and also on discussions with many of the personalities concerned, of events in and about the Congo during the two fateful years 1960 and 1961. . . .” read more
The Resurgence of the Labour Party
“After 13 years, the biggest and most influential socialist party in the West has returned to power. What are the likely consequences of this event, in Britain and on the international scene? It is obvious to anyone who has followed at all closely the internal battles and evolution . . .” read more
Ethiopia
“The successful overthrow of Abboud’s long-standing military despotism in the Sudan in late 1964 was a major victory for revolutionary forces everywhere in Africa. It transformed, almost overnight, the prospects of the Congolese National Liberation Army—rendering impossible a consolidation of counter-revolution in the Congo. At the same time, . . .” read more
The Left in the Fifties
“For a decade in Britain, under Conservative rule, there was a recognizable and active Left. Now at last there is a Labour Government. But there is no longer, in the same sense, a Left. This paradox must be the starting-point of any consideration of the tasks confronting socialists . . .” read more
The Cypriot Labyrinth
“The communal fighting which broke out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots on December 21st, 1963, seems, at the moment of writing, to have reached a stalemate. Of the 104,000 Turks, some 60,000 are crowded, either into their own quarter of Nicosia, or in the strip of land running . . .” read more
Malaysia and Indonesia
“Malaysia itself is a new and largely factitious creation, but the Malaysian ‘affair’ has deep historical roots. It has arisen because of profoundly complex and interrelated social, economic, cultural and political developments in Malaya and Indonesia. It is far less interesting in itself than for the light . . .” read more
The Nature of the Labour Party (Part II)
“What is the main justification of Labourism, put forward by socialists at its birth and still advanced by its apologists? What is the cry that rings out at every Labour Party Conference, to repress all serious dissent and maintain the incredible system intact? That Labourism attains the unity . . .” read more
Critique of Wilsonism
“The relatively stable equilibrium, which defined British politics and society for a decade, has now broken down. The crisis of the traditional English hegemonic class, under whose rule British capitalism has in recent years so visibly declined, threatens the long supremacy of the Conservative Party. It would be . . .” read more
Sex and Language
“Within the last four years, D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the two Tropics of Henry Miller have at last been allowed to circulate freely. Both writers use the so-called ‘obscene’ words extensively, and the publicity given to the Lady Chatterley case, as well as the character . . .” read more
Political Process and Economic Development in Brazil (Part I)
“In the last 40 years, the people of Brazil have broken stifling traditional constraints on their life, and have begun to develop their productive forces, to renovate their social institutions and to frame innumerable projects for the mastery of their own future. As they turn away from the . . .” read more
Shop Stewards and Workers' Control
“The growing debate on the question of workers’ control seems to have reached an impasse for many socialists. Doctrinally, the progress made in recent years is considerable, but the problem of a strategy for the implementation of even the first and pioneer stages remains obscure.” read more
An Economic Policy for Labour
“This article is written on certain assumptions. Explicitly these are that Labour comes to power in the latter half of 1964, and that it does not before the election add significantly to the sketch of its economic programme in Signposts for the Sixties and in recent speeches by . . .” read more
The Lessons of French Planning
“Two-and-a-half years ago in The New Statesman, I attempted to answer the question: Is French planning a miracle or a myth? At that time comparatively little was known in this country about the details or achievements of the French planning experiment—for the very good reason that planning was . . .” read more
Origins of the Present Crisis
“Two commanding facts confront socialists in Britain today, dominating this moment of our history. British society is in the throes of a profound, pervasive but cryptic crisis, undramatic in appearance, but ubiquitous in its reverberations. As its immediate result, a Labour government seems imminent. So much everyone agrees. . . .” read more
The British Political Elite
“Class-divided societies have almost always been governed politically by a small minority. In general, this chosen few is a small group even in relation to the ‘ruling class’ itself, in the Marxist sense, the class which possesses or controls the economic wealth of society through the institutions of . . .” read more
The Labour Commonwealth
“In his speech to the Labour Party Conference in 1962 Hugh Gaitskell put the party’s case for supporting the Commonwealth in preference to the European Economic Community in these terms: “It means something to us and to the world. Where would our influence be in the world without . . .” read more
Growth, Trade and Aid
“When economists first became interested in the poverty of the underdeveloped countries, they concentrated their attention upon the supply side of the problem. What were the barriers in the way of increasing productivity? What were the significant scarcities of economic resources? Of the resources that were available, what . . .” read more
Prologue to the Cuban Revolution
“The Cuban revolution is now widely recognized as an event of world-historical importance. For the first time there has been a socialist revolution in the Americas. For the first time the new forms of colonialism have been unequivocally rejected. For the first time a socialist revolution has been . . .” read more
The British Economy: Crisis and Structural Change
“The 1960s have seen the British economy in a whole succession of open crises. It is high time that some attempt be made to analyse what basic developments in the Conservative decade of the 1950s have culminated in the complex crisis of recent years. This is vital, too, . . .” read more
Persia in Perspective (Part II)
“Persia has often been described as a semi-colony. This term, familiar as an operational concept from the works of Lenin and Mao, has usefully drawn attention to the special conditions of imperialist penetration in countries which, throughout the period of brutal imperialist expansion, preserved their juridical independence. The . . .” read more
The Dialectic of Class and Region in Belgium
“Belgian society today is a living illustration of the law of uneven development which has dominated the whole history of capitalism. The present structural crisis of the Belgian economy is a direct consequence of the fact that Belgium was the first industrialized country in continental Europe. The crisis . . .” read more
What is Fascism?
“The first volume of what promises to be by far the most rigorous and methodologically exciting analysis of Italian Fascism yet to have appeared has recently come out in France: Robert Paris’ Histoire du Fascisme en Italie. Showing complete familiarity with the mass of published material on the . . .” read more
Continental Capitalism and the Common Market
“The crisis between England and France aroused intense anxiety in Europe about the future of the Common Market. In one way or another, all France’s partners appeared to be bent upon a rupture with her. Yet, after a pause of some days, the Brussels machinery was working normally . . .” read more
Crosland’s Enemy--A Reply
“It is the central proposition of the revisionist, or Croslandite, left (I refuse to call it the ‘radical’ left) that capitalism can now be managed without further major steps towards social ownerprivate industry is today largely controlled by technical managers who have other interests and motives than maximising . . .” read more
Revolution and Reaction 1789-1848
“Dr. Hobsbawm’s book is addressed, its preface tells us, to “the intelligent and educated citizen, who is not merely curious about the past, but wishes to understand how and why the world has come to be what it is today and whither it is going”. One has not . . .” read more
Mexico: The 'Sabotage' of the Agrarian Reform
“There are two Spains, one wet and one dry, and there are also two Mexicos: one very rainy, especially near the Gulf of Mexico and along the Pacific, in the cocoa-growing area of Soconusco. But the greater part of the country is dry—the whole of the central plateau, . . .” read more
The Centre-Left in Italy
“Does the Centre-Left government represent a fundamental turningpoint in Italian political life, or is it only a passing tactical phase? And if it is a permanent reorientation, is it a shift to the left by the Christian Democrats (DC), or on the contrary a shift to the right . . .” read more
Portugal and the End of Ultra-Colonialism (Part 3)
“Mass forced labour: de facto pass laws: omnipresent foreign capital: an incendiary white lumpenproletariat: a superstructure of magic: an economic and social machine turning in a void, driven by pure terror. This was the system of Portuguese imperialism at the opening of 1961, the most primitive, the most . . .” read more
Scotland on the Dole
““Scotland draw your sword—for you’ve drawn the dole long enough!” This cry of the ’thirties echoes again throughout Scotland today. The Scottish people feel that they are getting the rawest of raw deals and that this is due to the incompetence and indifference of Whitehall and Westminster. This . . .” read more
Portugal and the End of Ultra-Colonialism (Part 2)
“A preliminary remark on method should be made. The account which follows does not attempt to give an exhaustive description of the whole Portuguese colonial system. The method chosen is rather to select various key sectors which appear to be privileged expressions of the whole, and to show . . .” read more
Romanticism and Contemporary Poetry
“It is not just antiquarian to assert that any study of contemporary poetry must begin with romanticism. We are talking about English poetry; hence our points of reference will be English Romanticism. I am not concerned with direct historical antecedents. Rather with establishing an astonishing transformation of attitude . . .” read more